Police reports: Van backs up on I-70

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Editor's note: The following excerpts were taken from Eagle County law enforcement officers and police reports.

A deputy was on westbound Interstate 70 near Wolcott on Nov. 6 when he saw a van backing up in the eastbound lanes. Another car and a semi truck had to brake hard and stop in the middle of the highway to avoid hitting the van.

The officer used an emergency turnaround and contacted the driver of the van. The 36-year-old smelled of alcohol and said he missed the Wolcott exit. He thought he was safe to back up to reach the exit.

The man agreed to perform voluntary roadside sobriety tests and failed, police said. He was arrested for further investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was cited for driving while his ability was impaired and backing a vehicle on the interstate.

EDWARDS, Colorado - A deputy stopped a car for speeding in Edwards on Nov. 7.

The 29-year-old driver said he didn't have a license and only drives from Eagle River Village to Lake Creek Village to pick up his friend who drives from there, according to police. He pointed to a man coming over to the car.

The deputy checked the second man's license and found it had been suspended, police said. The 29-year-old had nine restraints on his revoked license, according to police.

The 29-year-old was arrested for driving with a revoked license and warned for careless driving.

GYPSUM, Colorado - A 19-year-old Gypsum store clerk called deputies on Nov. 13 about two young men who were trying to buy alcohol without their IDs and past the time when the clerk was permitted to sell alcohol. The men wouldn't leave the store and tried bribing the clerk to sell them alcohol, according to the police report.

Deputies arrived and found the men sitting in a car that had just pulled into a parking space from a gas pump, police said. The 20-year-old driver rolled down his window to talk to the officers, who said they noticed the car smelled of burned marijuana. The deputies recognized the 22-year-old passenger in the car from previous encounters they had with him.

The officers asked the driver why they were trying so persistently to buy alcohol. The 20-year-old man said they just forgot their IDs. The deputies asked the man to get out of the car and walk behind it. The man complied but appeared to be intoxicated, as he leaned on the car for support to walk, police said.

A pat-down search turned up a lighter that appeared to be stolen from the store, an apple with three holes in it that were filled with burned marijuana and an electric scale, police said. The man confirmed the apple was used for smoking marijuana and said he carried the scale "so I don't get ripped off when I'm buying my stuff," the police report said. The officers asked what he meant by "stuff" and he said marijuana, the report said. The man said he smoked about 90 minutes earlier, according to the police report.

The man agreed to perform voluntary roadside sobriety tests. He said he knew how to do them because he was arrested last month for DWAI, the police report said. He failed the maneuvers and was arrested for further investigation of DUI, police said. He submitted a blood test to check his system for drugs.

The store clerk said the men had yet to pay for $60 of fuel they pumped. The 22-year-old offered to pay for it with his bank card, but it was declined for insufficient funds. The 20-year-old said to get money out of his wallet, but it only contained $20. The clerk said he wouldn't charge the men for fuel piracy if they paid in the next 12 hours.

The store clerk told police he also was sure the lighter found in the man's pocket was stolen. There was one empty space on the rack that had been full before the men came in, the clerk said. Surveillance video also showed the man standing near the rack, but there was no definitive proof he stole the lighter. He said he bought it in Eagle.

A deputy called the store 12 hours later, after the 20-year-old was booked into jail, to see if the men managed to pay for the gas. They hadn't. A store manager said the man is now banned from the store.

The 20-year-old was charged with DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and fuel piracy.

EDWARDS, Colorado - Deputies investigated a disturbance at an Edwards home on Nov. 11.

They met a 24-year-old man outside the residence who said his roommate punched him, according to the police report. There was a cut above his eye. He said his 25-year-old roommate punched him after he told him he didn't like his girlfriend, the report said. The officers noted that the man was intoxicated and had an ambulance examine his injury.

The 25-year-old said he and the 24-year-old were going to a job fair in the morning and the 24-year-old was drinking heavily. He said the 24-year-old has been having lots of problems and was drinking too much lately, the report said. He confronted the 24-year-old about the drinking and the man got upset, started spewing insults and then tried to punch him but missed, according to the report. The 25-year-old told police he reacted by punching the 24-year-old. The 25-year-old's girlfriend saw the incident and confirmed the story.

The 24-year-old declined to press charges and arranged to stay somewhere else for the night.